


A New Home For Flowers

by Lululeigh



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Birthday, Family, Flowers, Fluff and Angst, Home, Multi, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-20 19:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lululeigh/pseuds/Lululeigh
Summary: Home is where one feels comfort, enjoys time with family, and makes new memories. Although he’s experienced many homes over his life, Gunter has found that they’ve always been accompanied by flowers.





	A New Home For Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [As the Sun Sets in June](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11187750) by [Lululeigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lululeigh/pseuds/Lululeigh). 
  * Inspired by [As the Flowers Bloom in Spring](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11191767) by [UntramenTaro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntramenTaro/pseuds/UntramenTaro). 



> Happy Birthday Gunter!! I really am so grateful for FEH because it’s given me so many new avenues for expressing my love. And of course, please enjoy!
> 
> If you are interested in learning more about Gunter’s family and the Duet Mountains, please consider reading 'As the Sun Sets in June' (the birthday fic I wrote last year) and 'As the Flowers Bloom in Spring' by UntramenTaro!

At some point in our lifetime, each one of us will find a place that they will call home. For some of this world, a pair of towns nestled into the valley of a Nohrian mountain range was where many made a place for themselves. The atmosphere of the Duet Mountains in the late spring was especially peaceful, and also a rewarding escape to anyone who wanted to clear their mind of the ongoing war. Here in this town children ran around without fear of attack, able to enjoy the warm days brought along with the arrival of June.

_ “Papa papa! Look at these I found in the garden!”  _

_ The small girl with brunette braids came bouncing in through the opened front door, grasping a bundle of bright yellow flowers in her tiny hands. Katerina had taken a liking to spending time outdoors in the sunshine as of late, often returning home with great stories of what she did or interesting events she had seen. She was an explorer and a storyteller, but at the core she was the most precious person on this earth next to the Great Knight’s wife. Gunter smiled as she ran over to him, wondering what in particular had made her so excited about these flowers.  _

_ “My my, now what do we have here? And what do you think you’re going to do with those?” _

_ “They’re for you silly! A present for Papa’s birthday!” She extended the small collection of flowers towards him, feeling quite proud of her gift. _

_ “Thank you very much Katerpillar. However, don’t you think it would have been best to leave them in the ground so they can grow?” _

_ “But I wanted to give them to you… I wanted Papa to keep them...” Katerina sulked, believing that her father wasn’t happy with her actions. Gunter pondered to himself for a moment, before ruffling his daughter’s hair and getting up from his seat. _

_ “I have an idea actually… how about Papa keeps them in a book so that he can look back at them whenever he likes?” _

_ “In a book? Are the flowers going to stay alive in there?” _

_ “No no sweetie. We’re going to turn them into pressed flowers. It’s when you leave them in a book to dry. They become quite fragile but are also very beautiful.” Gunter had moved to the small bookcase on the other side of the room and picked up a well-worn notebook that had been sitting on it. “See? There’s a flower in here that your mother gave me a long time ago.” He flipped open the notebook to one page instinctively, as though he had done the action one hundred times. Katerina gasped as he showed her what lay inside: a singular purple flower that she recognized from the nearby fields adorning the page. _

_ “Oh wow! So you can put these flowers in there too?” _

_ “Mhmm. That way, no matter where I travel, I will always have them with me. How does that sound, my little Katerpillar?” _

_ The little girl’s eyes twinkled, a big smile spreading across her face. “I want to fill Papa’s book with lots and lots of flowers!” _

It was a beautiful sunny day for the kingdom of Askr, and Leigh, who had been searching for something to do that afternoon, had convinced Gunter to travel down to the market with them. The two had gone their separate ways to look around the various shops and stalls, each taking their time to examine the merchandise that vendors had to offer. Once Leigh had made a few small purchases and completed all the browsing they felt like doing, they went off to find where the other had wandered to. Gunter had not even realized how much time he had spent in one store that specialized in books and writing materials, daydreaming in one of the back corners of another world and time. The old knight had been standing like a statue in front of the shelves full of books for who knew how long, and Leigh gently tapped his shoulder in hopes of bringing him back to reality. Gunter blinked for a moment as his mind returned to the present, and looked down to Leigh, who wore an expression of curiosity on their face. 

“Gunter? Do you see something you want?”

“Ah no, it’s quite alright. Have you finished your shopping? We should be on our way back to the castle soon so as to not miss dinner, don’t you agree?” Gunter smiled as he took a few steps away from the shelf, avoiding any conversation by exiting the store to go and fetch his horse, Sascha. Leigh was stuck wondering what had caught the old man’s attention as they too made their departure, eyeing the bookshelf from the front window one last time with an inquisitive look before leaving for the day.

Although not intentional, the thoughts concerning the book disappeared from Gunter's mind in the following weeks, the old knight preoccupied with training, battles, and other important events. Thanks to the calendar provided by Leigh, he grew more and more conscious that his birthday would soon arrive. While in recent years his birthdays had been quite enjoyable with the help of Corrin, he couldn't help but reflect on what it might be like if his family were here to celebrate with him. Nothing could ever replace his wife and daughter completely, and even though he was certain that the Order of Heroes of Askr would make his birthday special, there was no denying that a small part of him yearned to travel back to those old times.

Waking at his usual time, Gunter noted that the day had started relatively normal, save for the birthday greetings from Leigh and Corrin as soon as he opened his door. Despite his wish to keep the date of his birth under the radar, he supposed that it would be impossible to avoid the trio of youngsters.  After breakfast, which Leigh insisted he stay seated for—it was his birthday after all, and as such, he deserved to be treated extra special—came the usual training. A few others from Nohr also remembered his birthday, and even Jakob tried to be civil towards him on the battlefield. During his mid-afternoon walk around the castle, he occasionally saw Leigh around the grounds, who waved to him despite being busy with their own duties. As the day wore on, and the afternoon turned to evening, Gunter settled himself into his own quarters, allowing a moment to himself for his own thoughts.

“Is now a bad time?” Leigh knocked first before they spoke and poked their head in the door, happy to find Gunter in the first place they thought he might be. He turned to look at them from where he sat in front of the window, and gestured for them to enter.

“It’s never a bad time if it involves you. Please come in, Leigh.” 

As they entered the room, Gunter noticed that their appearance seemed a bit odd. He wasn’t sure if his old eyes were tired or if it was a trick of the light, but Gunter couldn’t help but notice that it looked as though Leigh had been crying. “Is everything alright? You seem a little—”

“A-ah I’m fine! It’s just… allergies and such I guess. Must be too much pollen in the air.” Leigh laughed nervously, lowering their hood with one hand while keeping the other tucked behind their back. Gunter didn’t seem truly convinced, however, he decided to play along for the moment.

“So I see. And, what can I do for you on this fine evening?”

“R-right! I wanted to give this to you.” Leigh pulled out a rectangular object wrapped in brown paper and adorned with a twine ribbon from their pocket, handing it over to him. “I know I already said this to you early, but Happy Birthday Gunter.”

“And what’s this now? Oh my, this is from—”

“I saw you eyeing those books at the market the other day, and since you wouldn’t tell me, I figured I’d do some research myself. Corrin said you use to carry a small book around with you that you kept pressed flowers in, and I thought maybe you might want to start a new one here for Askr.”

Gunter looked at them with astounding disbelief. Leigh was always quite attentive, but a present with as much meaning as this left him baffled. He ran his index finger over the cover of the book, decorated with a gold trim along the edge. He would be certain to take extremely good care of this book and fill it with all the many flowers he discovered in Askr.

“Aaaaand that's not all! A little something to get you started.” Leigh pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind their back, offering it to him as well. The arrangement was quite colourful, some of the flowers reminding him of those which he had seen back in Nohr and others that were entirely new. His eyes settled on one of the purple flowers, returning him back to that time during the spring festival of the Duet Mountains. The old knight smiled at the thought; however, his daydreaming was interrupted by Leigh sneezing. He couldn't help but laugh, the reason they seemed so irritated finally dawning on him. 

“Come now, let’s get those flowers into a vase and a damp cloth for your eyes. Is there anything else I can get for you to help with your allergies?” Gunter asked as he set the bouquet down on the table and stood up, closing the distance between them. Leigh sneezed again and dabbed at their runny eyes with their long sleeves, attempting to relieve some of the itchiness. 

“I should be fine, maybe just a lot of kisses would help quicken the process?” Leigh laughed, and while it had been a joke, Gunter took it in all seriousness, moving in to place a kiss on their forehead. 

“Does that help?”

“Mhmm, I think I’ll need a couple of more though for it really to kick in.”

The old man laughed, and brought Leigh in for a warm hug, pressing a kiss to the top of their head. “Anything for you, Leigh.”

The remainder of the night was rather peaceful as the pair shared a pot of their favourite tea before bed. Leigh told stories to Gunter about where around the castle grounds they had found the various flowers. Apparently Askr was also well known for its various species of flora and fauna.  _ Fields of flowers that stretch for miles,  _ Gunter recalled as he lay in bed trying to fall asleep. Leigh laid next to him, already passed out thanks to the allergy medication, which had made them incredibly tired. He would one day love to take Leigh out to visit those fields, in hopes of collecting new specimens that he could one day look back upon.

_ Yes, just as in that world, he would also make lots of new memories here in this one too, alongside those who made him feel like he had a place to belong to. Once again, he had found a place to call his home. _


End file.
